The Latest Threat to Freedom of Speech

Things are moving fast in America. Like water that swirls faster the closer it gets to the center as it goes down the drain. With the New Left in control of the executive and legislative branches, they know they have to get things done now before the next election.

Henry Waxman wants the government to bail out newspapers. (And always remember there was a Supreme Court case in the 1940’s that said in essence, what the state funds, the state controls.)

Rep. Henry Waxman trekked from Capitol Hill to Federal Trade Commission headquarters today to deliver a message to journalists and news consumers: All of you need to reach a consensus about working with the government in order to bail out the struggling news industry.

The California Democrat, who chairs the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, didn’t say it quite so bluntly, but his point was clear. “Government’s going to have to be involved, in one way or the other,” to save journalism from an ongoing “market failure” that will only worsen without intervention, Waxman said. …

Waxman bemoaned the demise of newspapers across the country, including in Denver and Seattle, and warned that the troubling media trends will continue. “This recent depression in the media sector is not cyclical,” Waxman said. “It is structural.”

“Congress can’t impose a solution” to that structural problem, he said. But the government should partner with the media industry to ensure a sound future for journalism. Waxman praised the record of “independent” reporting in U.S. history and said it has implications for democracy.

How long can reporting remain “independent” under government funding? Perhaps what Rep. Waxman means by independent reporting is liberal bias. The loss of newspapers might be bad generally, but it’s disastrous for the left.

It’s interesting that the Congressman was cautious:

“There needs to be a consensus within the media industry and the larger community it serves” before the government acts, Waxman said. “We have to figure out together how to preserve that kind of reporting.”

I think he’s sending a signal here to the media: they need to build the bandwagon before Congress can hop on it. Time to get the propaganda rolling! Time to create a consensus that Democracy cannot survive without a vigorous press, therefore “they need to do something.” It should be an easier consensus to build than the one about global warming. This isn’t science, so there are no data to manipulate or evade.

4 Comments so far ↓

“I think he’s sending a signal here to the media: they need to build the bandwagon before Congress can hop on it.”

Yes. They’re being told to build the gallows from which they, and free speech, will be hanged. Every dictatorship has needed to spend huge amounts on propaganda in order to convince the masses that their misery and suffering will be rewarded eventually. Waxman’s demand that the press whip up a campaign to convince the American people that government control of the press is necessary is proof that he knows the danger of a really free press.

National Security Workforce to Address ‘Intersectionality’: do you ever get the sense that you’re in a waking nightmare? Money quote from the memo: “Our greatest asset in protecting the homeland and advancing our interests abroad is the talent and diversity of our national security workforce.”

Last Week Tonight on Donald Trump: bit long, but great takedown of the Trump mythos. In a more rational political environment, this would have killed his presidential campaign. I’m not sure it’ll make any difference.

A Responsibility I Take Seriously: nominee must be “without any particular ideology or agenda” and have “a keen understanding that justice is not about abstract legal theory, nor some footnote in a dusty casebook.” I sure hope the Republicans can hold the line on his nominations.

Trigger Warnings in Annapolis: I’m not sure why I expected the service academies to be bastions of academic freedom, but I did. It’s much worse than the universities since they’re far more hierarchical.

Announcing the Twitter Trust & Safety Council: this is within their rights, of course. Given the leftist leanings of the company and its assembled Council of Goodspeech, I suspect that some groups will get a pass and some will face suppression. Chilling at any rate.